What people are missing on Hagel

The significance of
the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary is not
that he is the first Vietnam vet to be tapped, but rather that he is the first combat-veteran enlisted
man ever to be
picked. (Like Forrest Gump, he served in the 9th Infantry Division.)

I think that is nice.
But I don't think it particularly will help him with the job. I worry more
about the lack of diversity in the backgrounds of the
members of the Obama cabinet. Too many former members of Congress, too few
people who know much about the real world.

It also is kind of
weird that the three of the last four SecDefs picked by a Democratic president
have been Republicans, at least in name (Hagel, Robert Gates and William
Cohen). Where's that Democratic bench?

I remain a fan of
President Obama, but I think he and his team have a certain tone deafness on
national security. The military may just look like a political problem to
certain offices at the White House, but it really needs to be considered as
something more than that.